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energy

Broadrock will pay $3 million to Johnston in landfill agreement

BROADROCK RENEWABLES will pay $3 million to the town of Johnston over a 20-year period, settling almost two years of litigation over odors at the Central Landfill. The company plans to being operations at a power-generation facility to be fueled by methane created from the landfill.

PROVIDENCE – The town of Johnston will receive an additional $3 million in payments as part of an agreement reached with Broadrock Renewables over odors at the Central Landfill, officials announced Tuesday.

The agreement with Broadrock, which ends two years of litigation, includes bringing in an independent firm to manage the operation and maintenance of the gas collection systems at the site.

“These were challenging issues to resolve, and we had difficult conversations along the way,” said Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena, in a release. “By working cooperatively with my administration and the Johnston Town Council, we have overcome our differences and crafted an agreement that provides for both additional compensation to the town of Johnston and assurances that gas collection will be run in a manner that minimizes the community’s concerns about odors.”

In 2011, Johnston filed a two-front lawsuit against Broadrock and the R.I. Resource Recovery Corporation, which oversees operation of the Central Landfill. The suit claimed that both companies had failed to manage the gases produced when solid waste decomposes, causing residents to complain of odors from the landfill.

The RRC agreed in August 2013 to pay $3 million to settle its end of the suit, and has now promised an additional $2 million.

The $3 million promised by Broadrock, an energy company that uses gas from the landfill to generate electricity, will be paid over a 20-year period, beginning Sept. 13.

“We are satisfied that the concerns of the town have been addressed with this agreement,” said Doug Wilson, president of Broadrock Renewables, in a release. “We have constructed what is widely regarded as a state-of-the-art renewable energy facility at the Central Landfill, and we’re anxious to begin generating clean power for the region.”

Power generation operations at the Central Landfill are expected to begin within two weeks, Broadrock said.

The facility at the Central Landfill has been underdevelopment since late 2010. It is expected to generate approximately 35 megawatts of power, enough to service as many as 20,000 homes.

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